7 days ago
NEW HARBOR (NEWS CENTER) -- In February, stringent new restrictions on credit card companies will be put in place.
In the meantime, card users are seeing surprise rate hikes and fees. The latest move: even people with stellar payment records and excellent credit scores are being slapped with new charges.
Case in point: Darryl LeRoy of New Harbor. A former bank branch manager, LeRoy and his wife have never been late on a payment in 40 years of using credit cards, taking out loans and paying bills. That is, until last month.
"I was late two days and that's the only time I was ever late," says LeRoy. He was carrying a $600 dollar balance on a $15,000 credit line. He paid that off immediately and paid the $39 late fee.
Then, this month, he got a letter from Barclays Bank, which administers the credit card. "It says we're raising your rate from 9.99% to 25.24%. Effective December 21st," says LeRoy.
Analysts say it is part of the new world of credit in America.
"Here's what's weird," says Curtis Arnold, an analyst with Cardratings.com "Those folks have traditionally been the bread and butter customers of the credit industry. And then suddenly in this new environment we're in, those folks are huge risks 'cause they're carrying a balance. So issuers are doing everything they can to get you off their books."
Arnold says it is a sign that credit will become increasingly hard to get for all but a select few who earn high incomes, use their cards aggressively every month, but also pay off the balance every month.
